


Agate

by bourbonbucky



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, First Meetings, M/M, Paganism, Steve and Bucky flirt a lot and have mutual friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 00:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2752628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bourbonbucky/pseuds/bourbonbucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The guy, admittedly, was really, really fucking cute. Tall, broad shoulders, smile bright as the sun, and sandy blond hair that had natural highlights in it to go with the sunburn fading across his cheeks. Plus these bright blue eyes that almost glowed.</p>
<p>Jesus, Bucky hadn’t been standing at the booth but for ten minutes and he already had a crush. Way to fucking go, Barnes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Agate

The guy, admittedly, was really, really fucking cute. Tall, broad shoulders, smile bright as the sun, and sandy blond hair that had natural highlights in it to go with the sunburn fading across his cheeks. Plus these bright blue eyes that almost glowed.

Jesus, Bucky hadn't been standing at the booth but for ten minutes and he already had a crush. Way to fucking go, Barnes. Why the hell did he let Nat talk him into coming to this damn convention? To run a booth with Stark of all people? Bucky wasn't even a techno witch.

The venue was small, which was nice, but that meant Bucky didn't have as much to do that could keep him from staring.

"You know, if you and American Dream over there stare at each other any more you're going to end up hand fasted before you leave." Oh, Jesus, Stark caught him.

"Shut the fuck up, Tony. I'm not staring." He used to be better at lying.

" _Right_ , you're just looking off into the cosmos, contemplating the mysteries of life and magic." Tony looked back down at the magazine in his hands. "Why don't you just go over there and say hi?"

Bucky chewed his lower lip and tried not to fidget with his bracelet. "Because he's standing next to the god of thunder."

That got him a little laugh from Tony, who looked over to see Thor crack some joke that made American Dream (he needed to stop letting Tony nickname his crushes) throw his head back laughing. Normally Bucky would be the last to make an assumption like that, but he had a history with Thor and other Guys Out of His League. It was a thing, Nat even said so. 

"What is he even selling?" Tony squinted at the booth for a second, then smiled wickedly. "Barnes, weren't you saying you needed some aqua aura crystals?"

"Tony, no." Bucky looked around frantically for a chair, like maybe if he was sitting it would make a difference at all.

"American Dream is selling crystals, you should go over and see if he has anything you need besides a great shoulder to waist ratio." Why was he friends with his man?

"Or I could wait for Clint to bring some with him when he comes back from that meet up in Germany with Nat." Bucky sighed when he realized there wasn't a free chair in sight, and settled for leaning against the table. "Why are you so invested in my love life, Stark?"

"You'd have to have one for me to be invested in it, Barnes." Tony closed his magazine and stood up from his chair. "Now you can either walk over there of your own free will, or I will stand on my chair and holler at Thor for his buddy's number."

Bucky rolled his eyes and walked out from behind the table. Tony would do it, he knew this from experience.

There wasn't nearly enough space separating their booths. Just one little tea shop run by Banner, and that hardly counted as an obstacle. Still, Bucky stopped anyway. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes, but flopped back into his chair. Threat neutralized.

Bruce smiled knowingly, eyes darting over to Thor's booth across the aisle. Gods, did everyone just  _know_? 

"He's been staring at you since they were setting up, almost lost a couple polished pieces of tiger's eye." Bruce picked up Bucky's usual tea and wrote it up with practiced ease.

Bucky handed over the cash, plus a generous tip, and took the box with a grateful smile. "Did he drop them?"

"Yeah, then Wanda and Pietro gave him a warm welcome by playing keep away while you and Tony were unloading the truck." Bruce chuckled and glanced at the twins across Bucky's shoulder.

"And he actually got them back?" Anyone who could actually win a game of keep away with the Maximoffs was impressive.

Bucky was screwed, he knew this.

"Yeah, he threw Pietro over his shoulder and had Thor steal them back." Bruce's smile only grew, probably because he was just as much of a dick as Stark, just more understated about it. "You should talk to him."

"Sayin' that as my friend or my reader?" Bucky fiddled with the price sticker on the box of tea in his hands, peeling up the corner then smoothing it back out.

"Oh, it's not just me. The other guy likes him, and he's being a little insistent about you going over there." Bruce smiled through another sale, and Bucky took the chance to look at American Dream.

Miss Storm was at the booth, probably commiserating about weather and storm magic with Thor.

The tea sale finished and Bruce turned back to him. "So?"

"The big guy's a rage spirit, why's he so interested?"

"He's also a spirit of protection, remember? The last time he wanted you to meet someone, it was Natasha. Don't make him angry, James." The tone was playful, but Bruce's words were serious. There was a reason Wanda and Pietro didn't fuck with Bruce at these things. Don't fuck with the fae.

Bucky sighed. "Yeah, okay, fine. Hope the big guy's happy."

"He is." Bruce patted him on the shoulder and offered a slightly smug smile as he turned and walked across the aisle.

Miss Storm and Thor were still deep in conversation, talking about wedges and rituals, or something like that. Bucky wasn't that great at paying attention to conversations about magic he didn't practice.

American Dream looked up and flashed that blinding sunshine smile at him. "Hey, I'm Steve."

He extended a hand that Bucky easily accepted. "Name's James, but you can call me Bucky."

Thor quirked a grin that made Bucky bristle a bit. Multitasking bastard. At least he wasn't as bad as Loki.

"So, Bucky, what can I help you with?" Steve was looking him up and down, though he was trying to be subtle. It eased Bucky a bit, knowing the attraction was at least a little mutual.

The ease let him cock out a hip and turn some of his nerves into charm. Steve licked his lips unconsciously, and Bucky smirked. "Actually, I just wanted to talk to you, if that's okay."

Steve's eyebrows shot up, and he nodded a little too quickly. "Yeah, that's fine. So, uh, you're with Stark?"

Bucky looked back over his shoulder and saw Tony pretending not to watch them. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Steve. "Only because his wife is at work, and his back up sales partner is in Germany. She talked me into this. What about you, known Thor long?"

"Yeah, a couple years. He dragged me out here kicking and screaming. Threatened to beat my head in with the hammer if I stayed at home again this weekend." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, a flush darkening his cheeks.

Bucky chuckled. "You know, that sounds kinda..."

"Like he threatened to beat me with his dick? Thank you! I've been trying to tell him that." Steve elbowed Thor in the ribs, who waved them off without missing a single step his conversation. 

The guy was kind of creepily, inhumanly adept at basically everything. Steve shook his head and smiled as a customer came up and quickly bought a few chunks of rough jasper. 

Bucky glanced down at the display, small plastic bins of various crystals all over, little paper signs with probably the neatest handwriting known to man detailing the uses and names of the stones. An idea came to him, and he smiled.

"So, Steve," he started, "what kind of stone would you recommend for protection?"

Steve stood a bit straighter, his eyes brightening at the change of topic. "Protection from?"

Bucky shrugged. "I don't know, just general protection, I guess? Nothing's following me or anything, I just want your opinion."

A small smile curled Steve's lips, and he held up one finger before turning around and rooting through a tackle box. He produced a nicely polished piece of tumbled fire agate. Veins of opaque white were threaded through the rich, almost bloody red that caught the light and lit up, living up to the word fire in its name. Bucky bit his lower lip as Steve gingerly handed the stone over.

"That's fire agate. It's one of my favorite stones. Great for protection, but it's also a nice calming stone, and it's great for grounding, and when used with meditation it's fantastic for overcoming things like addiction and other destructive behavior." Steve spoke with confidence and passion, and something a bit like authority. The rest of the convention blurred into white noise while Steve was speaking.

Bucky rubbed across the crystal's smooth surface with his thumb, feeling a bit of Steve's energy leftover in it. He smiled and licked his lips. "This is also a good stone for sexual vitality, right?"

Steve's brows shot up, but he smiled and laughed softly with a shallow nod. "Yeah, yeah it is."

Bucky lifted his left hand, revealing the string of fire agate beads looped twice around his wrist. "I work with crystals. I really like fire agate, but moss agate's my favorite."

Steve made a thoughtful noise. "The agate of warriors. I used to carry some when I was deployed."

"No shit? Let me guess, army, right?" Bucky handed the fire agate back, his fingers brushing Steve's palm. The contact sent heat up his arm and down his spine.

Yeah, okay, so maybe the big guy and Bruce had a point.

Steve nodded. "Yep, for three tours. You?"

"I was an army brat, enlisted fresh out of high school after doing junior ROTC." Bucky chewed his lower lip for a moment, then dug his cell phone out of his pocket.

Steve quickly did the same. "You beat me to it by two seconds."

Bucky smiled with teeth and opened the screen to add a new contact before trading phones. He entered his number, then put himself in as  _Sgt Bucky Barnes._  They handed their phones back, and he found himself laughing when he saw that Steve added himself as  _Captain Steve Rogers_. Yeah, the big guy and Bruce  _definitely_  had a point.

They smiled at each other and Bucky looked over his shoulder to see a line forming at his and Tony's booth. He turned back to Steve and sighed. "Looks like I better get back before Stark hurts himself."

Steve chuckled and nodded, a playful glint in his eyes. "Don't go getting yourself in trouble, Sargeant."

Bucky cocked a brow and offered his most charming smile as he took a small step backward. "What makes you think I'm going to get in trouble?"

"Sargeants always do." Steve looked him up and down again, more blatantly this time.

"Yeah, well, that's why we have our captains, right? You clean up our messes." Bucky winked and ran back to his and Tony's booth before Steve could respond.

Two minutes later his phone was buzzing in his pocket. It was a text from Steve that said,  _we also discipline you_.

Bucky felt his stomach draw tight, and he looked back to see Steve smiling at him. 

He licked his lips and replied,  _sir, yes, sir_.

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "Five minutes of conversation and you're already sexting."

Bucky jabbed Tony in the ribs with two fingers. "Shut it, Stark, or I'll tell Natasha what happened last Spring during the equinox festival."

Tony grumbled, but didn't say anything else. Steve's eyes were like a physical weight on his back as he worked through four quick sales. They texted back and forth for four more hours before the convention drew to a close. Packing the truck back up was always a little easier than unloading. Tony always sold at least half his stock, so the boxes were much lighter and easier to carry out.

Steve and Thor were both walking around with hundred pound bins of stones and wares on their shoulders like it was nothing, tossing them into the bed of Thor's truck with ease. Thor could never had normal friends, could he?

Even Tony stopped to stare for a minute, then shot off a text to Pepper. Like he was one to lecture about sexting.

Bucky tossed his tea into the passenger seat of Stark's truck, then ran up to Steve when he and Thor were finished. Everyone was mostly done packing up, but people usually stuck around after these events to mingle in the parking lot and exchange information. Thor was off with his usual group, as was Tony, so it left Bucky and Steve pretty much on their own.

"Waiting for your ride?" Bucky gestured to Thor with a nod.

Steve smiled, but shook his head. "No, I actually rode my bike up here. You?"

"I rode with Tony. You, uh, you have a bike?" Bucky was very screwed, he was starting to accept that.

"Yeah, she's hidden between Thor and Logan's trucks." Steve led him around the tailgate of Thor's war beast and showed him the gorgeous motorcycle nestled in what was left of a parking space. "Got her once I was out."

Bucky swallowed to hold back an embarrassing noise and shifted his weight. "Too bad you don't have a spare helmet."

Steve turned to him. "I do, actually."

They stared at each other for a moment, silent in the midst of the crowd. Bucky let out a breath and gave Steve an almost shy smile. "I have a shop I run with a friend of mine. It's not far, if you wanted to take a look."

"Stones?" Steve quickly pulled the spare helmet out of the saddle bag and tossed it to Bucky before grabbing his own out of the other side.

"Tattoos, actually." Bucky smirked as Steve almost dropped his helmet.

Steve's eyes dragged down his body slowly, obviously imagining all the places there could be ink. Bucky yanked his helmet on quickly, if only so Steve wouldn't see the blush he was inspiring. They climbed onto the bike, Steve putting his helmet on at the last second, and pulled out of the lot with a few curious glances, plus Tony shouting  _use protection_  at their backs.

Again, why was he friends with that man?

As promised, the shop was only a few minutes away, but the ride was still long enough that Bucky's imagination almost got away from him. Steve was solid and warm in his arms, and so easy to hold onto. It wasn't just the closeness, being smashed together on the seat. Steve was also so fucking warm, like a goddamn blast furnace.

The whole front of Bucky's body was cold as they climbed off the bike, despite the warmth of early Summer surrounding them. Bucky unlocked the back door and flipped the lights on. The shop was closed, so they had free reign to sit around and do nothing for a while. Nat and Clint would be back in three days, so Bucky was enjoying the mini vacation before the solid schedule of appointments took over his life again.

Steve immediately went for the sketch binder with Bucky's name on it, dragging over a stool to sit behind the main counter while he flipped through the first few pages. They were a mixture of dotwork and neotraditional, with a few neotribal designs thrown in. Most of them were done in black with small accents of brighter colors sweeping through to draw the eye. That binder was one of the few things Bucky didn't feel guilty being prideful over.

"I love this one, reminds me of a tattoo one of my friends has." Steve pointed to one of the nerotribal designs, a falcon mid-flight.

Bucky remembered staying up doing multiple sketches for that one. He'd been heavily inspired by a few traditional African art styles. 

He grinned as his eyes followed the curve of the wings. "Yeah, I drew that for a guy at the VA I know."

Steve looked up at him, squinting curiously. "Sam Wilson?"

Bucky squinted back, then nodded. "Yeah, he was my group leader when I got back from my last tour."

"It's a small world." Steve grinned and looked at Bucky's mouth, then quickly went back to flipping through the sketches.

"I guess so, Cap."

Bucky watched Steve's fingers trace the lines of his designs and wondered if it wasn't too inappropriate to invite Steve to his apartment upstairs.

Steve's phone started buzzing, cutting Bucky off before he could decide. "Hey, Thor, what's up?"

Bucky fiddled with his bracelet, counting the beads and letting them pull him to a soft grounding. The call was short, and Steve spent a lot of it looking at him, smiling between answering questions Bucky couldn't hear.

Steve hung up with a sigh. "I promised Thor I'd help him finish his remodeling this weekend."

"You mean he's actually going to finish that basement?" Bucky remembered Thor starting it almost a year and a half ago.

A bright laugh filled the air between them. "Yeah, so he says." Steve stood and walked out from behind the counter. "I really hope this isn't too forward, but do you want to go out sometime?"

Bucky grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good, good." Steve took a breath and gave him a wide smile. It was almost like being in fucking high school again, the way they couldn't keep the dopey grins off their faces. "I'll text you later then, Buck."

Warmth filled Bucky's chest at the nickname. "Looking forward to it, Steve."

He followed Steve to the back door and restrained his craving for a goodbye kiss. As soon as the bike was out of the parking lot Bucky pulled his phone out and called Nat.

She answered on the second ring. "Don't tell me I've got to fly back early to help you hide another body. I know you can take care of it yourself."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "No, no, I was just calling to tell you I think I owe you a fruit basket."

Nat hummed on the other end. "Yeah, Stark already texted me. Tell me you're using a condom, James."

"Jesus, Nat, we didn't fuck. We're going on a date, though. Don't know when yet." Bucky closed the binder and shut the lights off as he headed for the stairs.

Nat growled at someone on her end, and Bucky could almost feel her scowling. "Nein, das ist nicht gut."

He chuckled and made his way over to his couch. The clock read 3:18, so it was 9:18 in Berlin, and clearly Nat and Clint were still working. "You busy?"

She sighed. "Yeah, a little. Text me when you get your date with American Dream set up, yeah?"

Fucking Stark. "His name's Steve. He knows Sam."

Nat snickered to herself. "No wonder the big guy wanted you to hook up with him."

Banner, too, really? Was no one loyal this day and age? "Yeah, yeah, try not to get yourselves killed over there. Tell Clint I still need some aqua aura."

"I won't die, but I make no promises for Clint." Clint squawked at her in German just loud enough for Bucky to hear.

They exchanged warm goodbyes, and Bucky stayed on his couch for a moment, looking between his altar and the window. He wasn't naive enough to think it was just a coincidence meeting Steve today. There was something between them, something electric but still just... secure.

Bucky fiddled with his bracelet and thought back to the last tarot reading Bruce gave him. The ten and page of cups had fallen into the same slot of the spread. Normally he forgot his own readings within the same day, but those cards were stuck with him. Happiness, alignment, synchronicity, and creativity. Everything he felt like he was missing. Steve suggesting the fire agate, too. There was so much sticking out to him. It was just...

What if? What if this was it? What if he'd just found what he'd been missing?

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know if i'll ever add to this, i just started it like last week, i think, and finished it today. anyway, let me know what you think :3


End file.
